Communities Around Bwindi National Park
Communities Around Bwindi National Park: The Batwa and Bakiga people are two of the various communities that can be found in the vicinity of Bwindi National Park. Through the money received from the activity, community tours improve the quality of life for the residents of Bwindi National Park’s surrounding settlements. It is possible to participate in this activity before or after the gorilla trek through Bwindi National Park, and reservations are not necessary.
Additionally, visitors to Bwindi National Park can purchase a variety of mementos from the local towns’ craft stores. These stores sell a variety of handcrafted goods, such as jewelry, paintings, sculptures, and apparel manufactured from locally sourced materials, all of which can be purchased at reasonable costs to help the community’s residents.
Communities surrounding Bwindi National Park 2024–2025: community tour with the Batwa
It is commonly known that the Batwa people were the first inhabitants of the Bwindi Forest. In addition, community visits within the national park offer an opportunity to engage with them and learn about their distinctive culture and way of life.
The Batwa pygmies obtain their sustenance through the traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Along with using various herbs and remedies from the forests for healing, they also rely on them, and visitors can see this when on community tours led by the Batwa.
Traditional dance performances with the residents, which comprise chanting traditional music and dancing, are another activity tourists partake in while visiting the Batwa. These performances serve as a welcoming gesture to the community.
When tourists trek through the Bwindi Forest as part of the Batwa trail experience, the Batwa also serve as guides. In addition, it allows visitors to experience the manner of life that the Batwa people lead when they are living in the forests. when on a guided tour in the forest, visitors can also get up close and personal with nature by seeing various primates and bird species.
Visitors to the Batwa village can also take part in other demonstrations, such as learning how to start a fire with sticks, which is another one of the people’s traditions. When visiting Bwindi National Park, visitors can actively engage and take turns helping the Batwa people make the fire.
During the community visits of Bwindi National Park, the Batwa can also instruct visitors on how they gather honey.
In addition to Bwindi National Park, trips through Mgahinga National Park and Lake Bunyonyi may also bring visitors into contact with Batwa people.
The Batwa trip in Bwindi National Park costs between $30 and $40 per person and is available in Rushaga, Buhoma, Ruhija, and Nkuringo sectors, among other areas of the park.
Communities surrounding Bwindi National Park 2024–2025: Bakiga community tour
Among the tribes residing in the surrounding regions of Bwindi National Park are the Bakiga, who also have a distinctive culture that visitors can experience when visiting their villages.
Tasting local coffee, which is farmed by the villagers on the edge of the national park, is one of the many activities that may be done while visiting the Bakiga people on tours in Bwindi National Park. Robusta and Arabica coffees are among the varieties of coffee that are farmed.
In addition to visiting the farms and learning how to hand pick, harvest, grind, and pound coffee, tourists who participate in coffee tours around Bwindi National Park also get to sample the locally produced coffee, which is packaged and sold at a reasonable price.
Additionally, visitors can go to the Bakiga people’s farms, where various products like bananas are produced around the Bwindi National Park’s terraced hills.
Visitors can also learn how to brew banana gin from banana leaves using regional fermentation techniques when on the Bakiga community tour. In addition to taking part in this process, visitors can sip on some locally produced gin.
During community tours with the Bakiga, learning how to cook local food is another activity that takes place. Visitors can learn how to manually grind millet with a stone during this cultural experience, and then they can cook and serve the millet with the local women.
During the community tour experience with the Bakiga in Bwindi National Park, storytelling is also included. Through this activity, visitors can learn more about the customs and culture of the Bakiga people.
During trips in Bwindi National Park, individuals or groups can participate in the community tour with the Bakiga, which lasts for two to three hours and costs approximately forty USD per person.
The Buhoma community tour, Nkuringo community tour, and Bukiga forest walk are a few of the other community activities offered in and around Bwindi National Park.
In addition to community tours with the Bakiga and Batwa people, there are a plethora of other activities available in and around Bwindi National Park. These activities include guided nature walks, bird watching, hiking, butterfly tours, and gorilla trekking tours through the Rushaga, Ruhija, Nkuringo, and Buhoma sectors.
Following their completion of these activities in and around Bwindi National Park, visitors can spend the night at one of the lodges that range in price from affordable to opulent.
How to reach the National Park of Bwindi Driving and flying are the two ways that visitors to tours in Uganda can get to Bwindi National Park, which is situated in the country’s Southwest.
Several airstrips are available for use during flights to Bwindi National Park. Kisoro airstrip is useful for gorilla tours in Rushaga, while Nkuringo airstrip is another option. Kihihi Airstrip is another airstrip within the national park that is utilized for trips throughout the Ruhija and Buhoma sectors
Travelers can also use other driving routes to reach Bwindi National Park, such as the 8 to 9-hour Kampala-Mbarara-Kabale route. The Gatuna or Cyanika borders provide entry to the Bwindi National Park from Rwanda.